Derry mum of two, Grainne Kelly, found that four out of ten primary school children in the North are transported to and from school without a booster seat.
That prompted her to come up with the BubbleBum, the world’s first inflatable, safety approved and regulated car booster seat. It offers a lightweight and highly portable solution for parents and adults who transport children in their cars and, in doing so, it also plugs the safety gap caused by the legislative exemptions which exist across the EU.
“I just wanted to create a product that I could send everywhere with my children to keep them safe in the event of unexpected journeys,” she says.
“Modern families do a lot of travelling in cars, coaches and taxis, both here and abroad - bulky booster seats just aren't practical to carry around even for one child, never mind if you have two or three.
“And frequently when you arrive at car hire desks to collect your car, having also ordered booster seats, you get told that they aren’t available! That means it is you, the driver, that is committing an offence if you then drive the car without the necessary child protection!”
Grainne is determined to raise public awareness of child car safety. In doing so she hopes that Governments across the EU will review and update what she describes as 'dated legislation' which permits children to travel unprotected without an appropriate booster seat for ‘unexpected’ journeys.
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